Season 8 to 9 Bridge
by JenniferJF
Summary: My personal opinion of what might have happened between Threads and Origin between Jack and Sam. In my universe, there was a lot we didn't see... AN: Additional disclaimer: Uncle George used originally by Rachel500, so can't take credit for that, eiher :
1. Always

The NC-17 version of the first six chapters of this story are archived at helio2. Same author, titled "Endings and Beginnings"

Samantha Carter sat staring silently through the glass. In the infirmary bed below, her father was saying goodbye to his Tok'Ra friends, but she wasn't seeing any of that. Instead, the words of her last conversation with Jacob rang through her head. Years ago, when they had thought he was dying of cancer, he had tried to get her what he'd mistakenly thought she had wanted: a career with NASA. And now…

She would be forever indebted to the Tok'Ra for giving her these few years with him. For the chance to get to know him and for him to get to really know her.

Maybe even better than she knew herself.

Her father was right, of course. She had accomplished everything but still felt empty. Her whole life had been about her career, both as a scientist and an Air Force Officer. In both she had succeeded beyond her wildest expectations, but her personal life was a disaster. She had tried to manage it the way she had managed everything else. She had set a goal to achieve happiness, determined what steps were necessary to accomplish it, made a plan, and executed it. She had failed.

Stupid, stupid genius. In the end, she had made a mess of everything, realizing her mistakes only now when it was quite possibly already too late. But she was finally through with pretending, with building false walls around her life and relationships and defending them as though they mattered. She didn't understand completely what Jacob meant when he said she could have everything, but she believed she had to try. Anything had to be better than the misery she'd been living in for the past few months.

Later, she would find Jack. They would finish the talk that had been interrupted earlier. She would get the answer she had been seeking. Yes, there was Kerry. But there was also Pete. And something about the look in his eyes – she couldn't help but still hope. Maybe. Maybe the answer to her question was 'yes.' Maybe he still loved her; maybe his feelings remained unchanged after all this time…

Well, then, they'd worry about the details later. It was time to put first things first. Jacob had taught her that much, at least, in the end.

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Jack entered the infirmary observation room. At his approach, Carter glanced up from where she sat. He sat down next to her, as close as he dared, barely touching from shoulder to knee. His need to be with her fought with his fear of crowding her, of pushing her too quickly at this time of need and hurting her even more. Jack knew her better than she realized and had heard the unspoken question she'd been about to voice in his backyard before they were interrupted. Before her pain at finding another woman in his life had cut him more deeply than he cared to contemplate.

And he could answer her now. For the first time in as long as he could remember he felt free. She loved him, of that he was certain. And he loved her. And, damn it, that _mattered_. More than his position or his career or, well, anything else. What was the use of saving the human race if you were forever destined to remain an outsider, able to watch other people find happiness but unable to grasp it for yourself?

Only, now wasn't the time or the place. All that could come later, after he had helped her say goodbye to Jacob. She was hurting, and while there wasn't a lot he could do, he was determined to do what he could.

Turning to her, he asked, "You okay?"

"Actually, I'm fine." Surprised, he turned to look at her. "Good, even, as strange as that sounds." She did sound different, at peace in a way he couldn't remember hearing before. "I thought I lost him four years ago. Since then we've been closer than we ever were my whole life. In a way, Selmak gave me the father I never thought I'd know."

This, then, was his Samantha. Just when he thought he knew her, knew how she was feeling and how she'd react, she'd prove herself so much greater than even he imagined. Suddenly and irrevocably, he felt his entire universe shift. Instead of being there for her, giving her strength, Jack realized it was he who needed her strength. He still wasn't certain what the future held, how they would find their way through the mess they'd created to happiness. But, finally, he was certain they would. Somehow. Together.

Jack slipped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. "C'mere." It was an order, and a request. And, miraculously, instead of resisting, she reached up to grasp his hand where it rested on her shoulder, caressing it as she nestled into his side, pulling him into an even more deeper embrace.

Their bodies so close, he could sense as well as hear her intake of breath, summoning her courage before she spoke again. "Thank you, sir."

"For what?"

"For being here for me."

The enormity and simplicity hit him like a freight train. So many years, so much time, trying and failing to figure out what she could possibly see in him. What he could do for her besides diminish her brilliance with his own bumbling ineptness. Afraid if he got too close she'd suddenly realize this and he would lose her completely. And all along it had been so simple. She needed from him nothing more or less than what he needed from her. She didn't need him to do anything or fix anything. She just needed him here, with her now and into the future. For some reason, in some crazy way he knew he would never be able to understand and could only accept gratefully, that seemed to be enough.

And that – thank God – was the one thing he knew now he could give her. He had been trying for years and he could never stop. Since the day they had met he had been there for her. Wherever and whenever necessary and she hadn't seen it. She had never realized he was doing it for her. Not just because she was a member of his team, but because she was Samantha Carter, and he loved her, and he couldn't help himself.

So he said the only thing possible, an explanation of the past and a promise for the future rolled into one two-syllable word. "Always."

Samantha understood. She understood that he was answering the question she hadn't managed to ask earlier. He could see it in her eyes when she glanced up to look at him. Sense it in the way she caressed his hand against her cheek. She understood, and accepted, and it was enough.

Together they looked back at Jacob, finding comfort finally in just being together, waiting together for the inevitable end.

It wasn't long in coming. Within moments, Jacob mumbled something to the Tok'Ra with him. As one they turned to look up at Samantha, gesturing for her to come down.

Before extricating herself from Jack's arms, however, Carter glanced up at him, clearly not wanting the moment between them to end. He gestured for her to go. He wasn't going anywhere. Not ever. He had meant what he'd said, and his 'always' was forever. He'd still be here waiting when she needed him.

Jack watched through the window as Carter approached Jacob's bed. She bowed her head over her dying father, kissing him gently on the forehead. Tears streamed down Samantha's cheeks as behind them, the numerous monitor's suddenly went flat. The enormity of what he had committed to washed over Jack, flooding him in a conflicting wave of grief, hope, fear, joy, confusion… Overcome, he closed his eyes and bowed his own head, letting the emotions run their course, for once not trying to control or suppress them, letting himself feel their full force for the first time in a long, long, time.

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Sam didn't need to glance up at the monitors over the bed to know when Jacob was gone. Unable to control her grief, she bowed her head, tears falling unstopped from her cheeks onto the infirmary sheets.

After several long moments, she felt a hand on her shoulder and a gentle, "Samantha?"

Turning, she looked up to see Jack standing in front of her, arms open in wordless invitation.

She stepped into his embrace and his arms closed around her, pulling her close. She cried against his shoulder as he held her silently, letting her grief run its course. Finally she pulled back and away.

"Sorry, sir." She indicated his wet uniform collar.

"Carter, I think when we're alone, you can call me 'Jack.'" The significance of this comment was not lost on Sam. Looking up into his eyes, at the depth of feeling in them, she knew she had not been mistaken earlier. He had meant what he'd said, that he did still care, and that he was hers. Always.

"Yes, s—Jack." She managed a small smile through her tears. Then, suddenly remembering, and unwilling to put off knowing, she added, "But what about Kerry?"

It was his turn to smile, though a bit self-consciously. "She dumped me."

Finding this hard to believe, Sam looked at him doubtfully, "Really?"

"It seems, to paraphrase, that she is unwilling to continue dating a man who is so clearly in love with someone else."

"Oh…" Then, as the full significance of his comment sunk in and she realized what he had just said, she repeated, "Oh!..."

"In fact," he continued before she could, "She even suggested you and I shouldn't let our careers get in the way of our relationship."

Sam looked down at her father's body lying on the bed next to them. "That's almost exactly what Dad told me just before he died." She couldn't quite keep the waver out of her voice on the last word.

Jack looked down at Jacob as well and smiled despite his obvious grief. "I always did like Dad."

Sam couldn't help a slight smile in response. "Yeah." Then, after a long silent moment, remembering all the times her father and Jack had spent verbally sparring, and her last conversation with Jacob, she turned back to Jack. "Sir… uh, Jack?"

He returned her gaze, "Yes… Samantha?"

"It's just… I know the timing sucks… but… I need you to know, I lo —"

Jack smoothly interrupted her before she could complete the sentence.

"No, Carter. Not now."

Surprised, and more than a bit embarrassed, she mumbled quickly, dropping her gaze, "Sorry, sir."

"No," he quickly reassured her, gently cupping her chin and forcing her to look back into his eyes. To see the love in them. "It's just that _now_ isn't a good time. There's someone you need to talk to, first." She nodded silently, understanding as he continued, "Don't worry, I'm done pretending it's none of my business."

She managed another small smile at this as she remembered all the times he had done just that. When she'd tried without success to get him to interfere in her relationship with Pete, hoping against hope he would do more than simply let her walk away.

"And besides, you need to call Mark and let him know what's going on. Your father is entitled to a military funeral, and I can work out those details on this end if that's what you two decide. Okay?" She nodded. "Just give yourself some time, Samantha. We've got all time in the world. I'm not going anywhere, and you'll always know where to find me if you need me."

And, slightly awkwardly, Jack bent down, planted a quick kiss on her cheek, turned on his heels, and left. Sam watched him leave, one finger lightly touching the spot his lips had been. Then, a few moments later, she too headed out the door.


	2. Resolution

Three days after Jacob Carter died, Jack O'Neill found himself sitting on his sofa trying in vain to concentrate on an episode of "The Simpsons." Instead, his glance kept straying to the silent phone, willing it to ring.

_God_, he thought, I _haven't waited by the phone like this since High School_.

But it wasn't a teenager's fear of rejection that kept Jack's hands off the phone. He knew how alone and vulnerable Samantha must be feeling right now. He was determined not to rush her. He had let her know – more than once – that he was still hers. Now all he could do was wait.

And hope.

A sharp ringing startled him out of his thoughts. It took several seconds for him to realize it was his doorbell and not the phone. Jumping up, he rushed to open the door.

"Carter!" She was standing there on his doorstep, nervously fiddling with her purse strap and he knew he was doing a terrible job of keeping the happiness out of his voice. For once, he didn't care.

"I know it's late, s--"

He interrupted her, still smiling like an idiot, "I thought I told you, _Samantha_, you can stop calling me sir."

"Yes… Jack." She raised her eyes to meet his and seemed satisfied by what she saw there. She continued, now smiling slightly herself. "I know it's late. But you said … anytime."

Impossibly, he could feel his smile broaden still further. "Yeah, I did." He just hadn't really expected her to take him up on his offer so soon. He should have known: full-frontal assault Carter surprising him again. Jack motioned to the interior of his house, "Come in?"

She stepped past him into the hall. Before following, he carefully locked the front door.

Carter chuckled behind him, "No more interruptions?"

"Nope," Turning towards her, he asked, "Did you eat dinner? I'm sure I have some leftover something somewhere. Or what about something to drink? I bought some Diet Pepsi." He knew it was her favorite.

She smiled at his thoughtfulness. "No, I ate at the hotel with Mark."

"Oh, of course. How is he?"

"About as well as can be expected, I guess. Kristen and the kids are driving out tomorrow. We're going to get together tomorrow afternoon to make final plans."

"Good." Jack gestured towards the living room, "Care to sit down?"

"No – I mean, yes – I mean .. ." She dropped her gaze from his, a blush spreading across her features. "It's just that, after this morning with Anubis and the super-weapon, I couldn't stand the thought of being alone." She held her head up again, eyes now meeting his squarely. "You said we had all the time in the world, Jack, but this morning at the SGC, when I looked at you, all I could think was, if only we'd moved a little faster. Maybe 'all the time in the world' isn't as much time as we'd thought. I don't want to waste any more time."

"Carter?" He couldn't trust his own ears. He had longed for this moment and dreamt of this moment so many times that, now, he hardly dared believe it. "Are you sure?"

She reached up to grasp his arm. The heat in her eyes burned into his. Wordlessly, she nodded.

He bent his head to hers. Inches from her face, he paused before warning tenderly, "Samantha, if we do this, there won't be any going back. I'm not going to be able to give you up."

"God, I hope not," she chuckled against his lips. They moved together, closing the gap, and those were the last words either of them spoke for a long, long time.

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Early the next morning, Jack O'Neill woke to find Samantha Carter lying curled up in bed next to him. It wasn't a dream.

For several minutes he just lay there, content to watch her sleep. He couldn't count the number of times he had done just this: lying in the semi-dark, watching over her while she slept. The rhythm of her breath, the curve of her shoulder, even the wrinkling of her nose in response to a dream, were all as familiar to him as his own features in a mirror. Yet at the same time, he felt he was seeing her for the first time.

One strand of Carter's hair had broken free of the rest and had fallen across her cheek. Jack reached out to gently tuck it back behind her ear. The simple freedom to touch her took his breath away.

Next to him, on the bedside table, his phone rang, shattering the silence. Sitting up, he grabbed for it. "O'Neill, here."

"Sir, this is Sgt. Harriman at the SGC."

"'Morning Walter. Ever sleep?"

"No, sir. Good morning, sir." The sergeant's voice was overly cheerful for this early in the morning. "General, Master Bra'tac has just arrived from Da'kara. He and Teal'c would like to brief you as soon as convenient."

"Uh, yeah. Sure," Jack answered, still groggy with sleep. "Tell them I'll be there in an hour."

An annoyingly awake female voice whispered in his ear, "Two hours?"

Her hands roaming across his body left him very little choice. "Or two…" he smoothly amended into the phone. "Two hours, got that Walter?"

"Yes sir. Goodbye."

"Later." Jack hung up the phone.

It was actually a full three hours later when General O'Neill and Lieutenant Colonel Carter sat down across the briefing table from Bra'tac and Teal'c. And since every conversation in the briefing room was still archived on video tape, no one ever knew that, as important as the Jaffas' news was, Jack's only personal memories of the briefing before Daniel showed up consisted entirely of Samantha Carter's smile.


	3. Family Part 1

General Jack O'Neill looked up from the sea of reports on his desk at the hesitant knock on his open office door. Colonel Carter stood poised for flight in the door frame, her lower lip caught nervously in her teeth. Seeing her there so unexpectedly, so beautiful and so _his, _sent a rush of heat coursing through him. He had worked with her nearly every day for nearly a decade, but now memory filled in what imagination had previously only guessed. He found himself for the first time completely unable to control his body's response.

"General?" she asked hesitantly, blushing slightly under his scrutiny.

If she could sense the direction of his thoughts from a mere glance, it seemed his physical response wasn't the only thing he was no longer able to control. Jack _really _needed to figure out how to get away from the SGC, and the sooner the better.

"Yes, Colonel?"

"I'm sorry to disturb you, I know you're busy." She gestured to the piles of paper on the desk in front of him as she spoke. "It's just that, I'm still technically on leave. And now that Daniel's checked out okay, I thought I'd take off. I promised Mark--"

Jack interrupted before she could finish her sentence and bolt out the door. Even slightly distracted as he was, he knew her every feature well enough to notice the slight puffiness around her eyes. He also knew her well enough to know how difficult it would be, even now, for her to ask for help. Physical desire temporarily forgotten, he made his decision. He'd be damned before he'd let her go through this alone. "Come inside and close the door, Colonel."

"Sir?"

"Carter."

"Yes, sir." She stepped inside his office, though just barely, and shut the door behind her.

He looked at her, straight into those brilliant blue eyes, forcing her to meet his gaze. He asked her, as gently as he could, "Do you want me to come with you?"

Her eyes watered over, and she glanced down at his cluttered desk. "No, I - I couldn't. I mean, you must have a million more important things —"

"That's not what I asked."

Carter looked up again, but this time with a new light shining through the unshed tears. Hope. "Would you…" She trailed off, barely daring to give voice to her desire after long years of denial.

He would take that as the invitation he knew it was. Jack bent forward and slammed shut the report he had been working on. It made a satisfyingly loud thump as it closed. "Go home, Carter, that's an order." Then, deliberately reminding her that he was now more than just her CO, "And you should probably change out of the civvies you wore yesterday."

Carter blushed again, only now with the slight smile he had been trying for. "Yes, _Jack_."

"Good." He smiled at his success. "Then I'll be at your house in about an hour to pick you up." She turned to leave, but before she could open the door, he added, "And, Samantha?"

She paused, hand on the doorknob, and looked back over her shoulder at him, "Yes?"

"_Nothing_ is _ever_ more important. Never forget that."

For one brief, glorious moment he was given the full brilliance of her smile. Then the knob turned, the door opened, and with a quick, "Yes, sir," she was gone.

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Jack had arrived at Sam's house almost exactly forty-five minutes after she'd left his office. After Jack waited a few more minutes for her to finish getting ready, they had gotten into his truck for the short ride to the hotel where Mark and his family were staying.

At first, they rode in the companionable silence grown so comfortable over the years. Summoning her courage, though, Sam finally broke that silence with the conversation she had been dreading, "I told Mark about Pete."

"Ah. I'd wondered. So, am I here as your CO, your friend, or…" he trailed off, waiting for her to fill in the rest.

"My best friend, Jack," she paused a moment before adding. "_And_ my boyfriend." She couldn't resist smiling in response to his smile at the word 'boyfriend.' It felt so damn good to finally be able to say it about Jack.

He shot a quick look at her out of the corner of his eye, without taking his full attention off the road ahead. "Yeah. Boyfriend." Jack paused for a moment on the word, and Sam sensed something else there, some emotion he was still hiding, but he continued too quickly for her to respond. "And how did he take the news about Pete?"

"Okay, I guess. I didn't go into details, its really none of his business, and we had other things we needed to discuss. But I did tell him about you, that you and I – Well, that you were the reason I broke it off with Pete." She didn't tell Jack the rest, though he probably knew it already: he was also the reason she had been with Pete in the first place. Still, she couldn't help smiling now as she concluded, "And that you and I were seeing each other. He wasn't happy about it, but I think he accepted it. He seemed more upset about Dad's request to have a military funeral."

"And?"

"It was in Dad's will, so, reluctantly, he's agreed."

"Good. That'll make things easier. I talked to Colonel Santee and Peterson can host the funeral. He's already making preliminary arrangements. We could hold it at Arlington, but with Tok'Ra and Jaffa wanting to come, I can't see it working logistically."

She nodded in agreement. That much had been immediately obvious to her, as well. "Yeah. And it'll be easier to…" she paused, the reality a bit too fresh for easy acceptance, "To visit. You know."

Jack reached over the center console and squeezed her knee. She lay her hand on top of his, lacing their fingers together. "Yeah," Jack agreed, then he added softly, "maybe."

Sam understood. Everything was different now: her father was gone, the Replicators and the System Lords were gone, Teal'c had his new Jaffa nation to worry about, she and Jack had each other. She could barely imagine what going back to the SGC in a week would be like, let alone where she would be or what she would be doing a year from now. The future was filled with 'maybe's', but… She squeezed Jack's hand beneath her own. He was the one thing she was certain of now. The millions of 'maybe's' could sort themselves out later. "Yeah," she echoed in agreement, "maybe."

Then, exactly as if he had read her mind, Jack squeezed her fingers in return. "Not all change is bad."

She smiled across the car at him, and he glanced over at her, smiling in return. They fell into their companionable silence for the remainder of the trip, hands linked together in her lap. Jack only pulled his hand back after they had reached the hotel, to make the turn into the parking lot. The drive was over.


	4. Family Part 2

Jack walked around to the passenger side of the truck and opened the door for Carter. As he held out his arms to her, he felt the same thrill he had felt earlier when he had helped her into the truck. They both knew, of course, that she didn't need his help. It was a gift from her to him, and a chance to celebrate, even if in only a very small way, their newly discovered relationship.

Carter smiled knowingly up at him as, after lifting her down, his hands lingered on her waist a moment longer than absolutely necessary. He returned her smile. "Ready?" he asked.

"As I'll ever be," she answered, looking towards the hotel apprehensively.

Jack slipped his arm around her waist – God, it felt right holding her like that – and together they crossed the parking lot. As they entered the hotel lobby, an attractive middle aged man stood up from the winged-back chair he had been waiting in and crossed the lobby towards them.

Carter saw him heading their way and moved to meet him. "Mark, hi!" The siblings hugged, and Jack was relieved at the naturalness of the embrace.

Pete Shanahan was a friend of Mark and, despite Carter's reassurances that Mark had seemed to accept her decision to break off the engagement, he was still concerned that Mark might resent Jack's intrusion into what, to Mark, must have seemed the perfect relationship. Add to that possible suspicions about the nature and length of her relationship with her commanding officer and Jack would be disappointed in Mark if he wasn't at least a bit concerned.

Hell, Jack knew if it had been himself in Mark's shoes he would have already begun the interrogation process.

Carter broke off the hug and turned to make introductions. "Mark, this is Jack O'Neill. Jack, my brother, Mark."

Jack stuck his hand out and waited. Not surprisingly, considering who his father was, Mark looked Jack straight in the eye before accepting the unspoken invitation, a clear challenge in those familiarly blue eyes. Mark asked, "It's _General_ O'Neill, right?"

"Just Jack, here." Mark seemed to accept that answer, at least for the moment, and shook Jack's hand with his own. Carter exhaled slowly next to him, and Jack realized she had been holding her breath waiting for Mark's response.

"Well, _Jack_," Mark released Jack's hand. "I must admit I didn't expect to see you here. I thought you were in charge of Sam's unit up there under the mountain somewhere." His tone was icy as he added, "Don't you have important general stuff you should be doing?"

Jack caught Samantha's eye. He winked at her and she gave him a quick smile in response. Turning back to Mark, he replied, "Nothing more important than this."

Mark could not have missed the exchange, and his eyes narrowed appraisingly as he looked first at his sister and then back to Jack. Making up his mind, his face finally broke into a tentative smile. "Then it's nice to meet you, Jack." Mark motioned towards the interior of the hotel. "Come on, Kristen and the kids are by the pool. The kids have been waiting for their aunt to watch them swim." He looked significantly at Jack, "We can talk while they play."

Carter looked anxiously at Jack. He smiled, reassuring her. If Mark wanted to talk, he was ready. He had nothing to hide, at least, not from Mark and his family.

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Mark hadn't known what to expect of General Jack O'Neill, and he still wasn't sure what he had found. In his experience, Air Force generals were not nearly as relaxed as Jack seemed to be. He couldn't imagine his father taking off from work to help a friend plan a funeral. Granted, from what Sam had said, Jack was now more than a mere friend, but still –

He glanced back over at the older man walking next to him. Sam walked on the other side of Jack, not quite touching him. Mark couldn't help but wonder how long they had had to practice walking next to each other as closely as possible without actually touching. He guessed, if they had really been working together for years, that it must have been a long time indeed.

Which was his biggest concern, really? Why now? Why now, when Jacob had just died, did Sam feel the need to make all these major changes in her life? Still, there had been something in the way the two had looked at each other, some understanding flashing unspoken between them -- Sam had been closer to their father than he had been himself, despite their reconciliation. She had been a wreck last night when they had first met to discuss Jacob's death. Today she had actually smiled. If Jack O'Neill was responsible for that change in her, then Mark was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. At least until he had the chance to sit the man down and have a few words with him in private.

They arrived at the swimming pool. Jack opened the pool room door for Sam – and she let him do it! Yes, his little sister was definitely changing.

Their arrival was immediately noted by the two children splashing in the water. Pulling themselves out of the pool, Mike and Mandy rushed over to greet their aunt and her new friend. "Aunt Sam! Aunt Sam!"

Mark's wife, Kristen, sprang to her feet from where she'd been sitting at a poolside table. "Kids! Don't run on the deck!"

Mike and Mandy immediately slowed down, almost to a walk. Sam rushed forward to greet them, "Hi, guys." When they threatened to drench her clothes with their hugs, she put her arms up in defense, "Whoa! Wait a minute!"

Kristen caught up to them and wrapped the two kids in white hotel towels. Thus protected, Sam grabbed both kids at once in a giant wiggling hug. She released them to make introductions as Mark and Jack joined them. "Jack, this is my sister-in-law, Kristen. Kristen, Jack O'Neill."

"We work together at Cheyenne Mountain," Jack explained as he shook Kristen's hand.

Kristen shot her husband a concerned look. Mark nodded, letting her know everything was okay. Relieved, she turned back to her sister-in-law and Jack. "Actually, we've heard a lot about you."

"Really?" Jack shot a look at Sam. "All good?"

Kristen smiled, "Yes. Jacob thought very highly of you, as a matter of fact."

Jack returned her smile, "And I of him" Then he added, more gently and seriously, "I'll miss him. He was a good friend."

Mark felt himself liking Jack still more for his obvious sincerity. "Hey, kids," he suggested, "Why don't you take your aunt over to the pool and show her some of your moves?"

Sam looked quickly from Mark to Jack. At Jack's nod, she smiled down at her niece and nephew. "Come on, guys, show me what ya got." Taking each of their hands in one of her own, she let them lead her to the water with Kristen following behind.

Mark motioned to a table near the pool. "Have a seat?" Jack nodded, and the two men sat down together.

They sat for a long moment watching Mandy and Mike swim. Finally, Jack looked Mark straight in the eyes and asked, "So, you have questions, right?" Mark was startled – though not displeased -- at the man's directness. Jack smiled, obviously noting his surprise. "Hell, I know I would if it were my sister."

"I just don't want to see her get hurt. This – you and her – it's so sudden."

Jack seemed amused by his word choice. "I can tell you 'sudden' is the one thing its not." He grew serious as he continued, "Mark, Sam and I have been in love with each other for years."

"Then why –"

"The Air Force."

"Ah." Mark understood, almost. He had been born into, and raised in, the Air Force. From his perspective, it was the cause of most of the terrible things in his life, from his mother's death to his father's aloofness. The one thing he couldn't understand, though, was why people let it ruin their lives. Why they put up with the bullshit instead of simply leaving.

Jack must have seen something on his face, because he explained further, "I was her commanding officer. It wouldn't have been appropriate. And due to – circumstances – neither of us could really leave, either."

"And now? Aren't you still her CO?"

"Things have changed. I can't go into more details, but I can promise you what I promised Samantha. I will _never_ hurt your sister, Mark, and I will _always_ be there for her when she needs me."

Mark looked into Jack's face for several seconds, studying what he found there. He had never seen a man look more intense than Jack looked at that moment, but as he watched, a hint of amusement came into Jack's eyes and the older man's mouth turned up at the corners. "What?" Mark asked.

Jack allowed himself a full smile at the question. "Sorry, Mark. It's that, when you looked at me that way – You have no idea the number of times I've seen that exact same expression on Carter's face as she analyzed some strange new deep space data. I've just never been the data before."

Mark couldn't help smiling in return. There was no doubt in his mind that Jack was serious, at least in his love for Sam. "So," Mark asked, "what are your plans?" It was the closest he could come to 'what are your intentions?' without sounding trite.

Jack understood. As he looked out towards where Sam crouched at the side of the pool, splashing water at Mike and Mandy, his brown eyes softened. "I'm not going to let her go, Mark," he said simply. "I plan to marry your sister just as soon as she'll have me."

It was the answer Mark had expected and, to his surprise, he realized that even after seeing Jack and Sam together for only a short period, it was the answer he'd wanted to hear.


	5. Understanding

Jack's driver pulled up to the curb in front of Daniel Jackson's apartment. She looked over her shoulder at General O'Neill and his friend, the large and, in her mind at least, rather intimidating Jaffa, Teal'c.

"Sir," she asked the general, "Would you like me to get Doctor Jackson for you?"

"No, that'll be fine, Airman. We're a bit ahead of schedule. I think we'll go up and get him ourselves."

"Yes, sir." She jumped out and went around to open the rear passenger-side door for the two men.

They stepped out of the car and headed towards the apartment building's front door. "We'll be back in a few minutes," General O'Neill reassured her before he and Teal'c disappeared inside.

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Daniel Jackson had just finished putting on his tie when his door buzzer went off, nearly ten minutes earlier than he'd been expecting. While almost never being actually late, O'Neill was rarely that early anywhere, so the unusual occurrence caught Daniel by surprise. The door buzzed three more times before he managed to get to it and press the intercom button.

"I'm here," he informed the impatient person on the other end.

"Hey, Daniel." By then, he was not surprised to hear Jack's muffled voice come through the speaker instead of a more patient airman.

"Uh, you're early." Daniel looked around the room for his suit coat. Seeing it lying across the nearby sofa back, he grabbed it before informing his unseen friend, "Wait there, I'll be right down."

"We'll be here."

Daniel pulled the coat on, opened the door, and left the apartment. After locking the door behind him, he slipped his keys into his pocket and headed down the stairs. Jack and Teal'c were waiting for him outside the front door. Jack looked every inch the Air Force Generel in his blue dress uniform and Teal'c vaguely uncomfortable in his new black suit.

Daniel stepped outside and, with Teal'c beside him, started down the steps. He stopped and turned when he realized Jack wasn't following them. "Jack?"

"Yeah. Hey, listen guys." Jack's glance took in both of his former teammates. "I wanted a chance to talk with you before we got to the funeral. Carter's going to be upset, and—"

Daniel's concern for his grieving friend proved greater than his patience with Jack's hesitancy. "When we talked, she sounded okay. I mean, considering…"

"Indeed. I believe Colonel Carter is handling her father's death _extremely_ well," Teal'c agreed.

"Yeah," Jack repeated uncomfortably, clearly not missing Teal'c's strange emphasis anymore than Daniel had. "That's why we needed to talk. See, Carter's, well, she's broken off her engagement."

Daniel opened his mouth to say, 'Really, that's too bad,' but one look at Jack's face silenced him. Jack looked anything but upset. Confused, Daniel looked across to Teal'c and was even more surprised at the slight yet knowing smile on his normally impassive features. What the hell had been going on while he was gone? "And?" he finally managed to ask.

"And --" Jack began, looking as uncomfortable as Daniel had ever seen him.

He was saved by Teal'c, who turned to Daniel and explained, "What O'Neill is _attempting_ to tell us is that he and Colonel Carter have started to – I believe the phrase is 'see each other?' – outside of the SGC." Teal'c looked towards Jack, a strange mixture of amusement and disgust on his face as he added, "Finally."

Daniel turned to Jack, who stared at Teal'c for a few seconds before asking in amazement, "Teal'c? How the hell--?" .

It wasn't denial, and Daniel couldn't have been more surprised if – Actually, after everything they'd been through, he couldn't imagine _anything _surprising him more. Teal'c, on the other hand, seemed to think it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I do not believe we have enough time, O'Neill, for me to answer that question properly," the Jaffa explained in answer to Jack's rhetorical question, "The funeral for Jacob Carter begins in under two hours."

"Wait, Teal'c,' Daniel finally managed to get a word in edgewise. "You _knew_ about this?"

"Indeed. I am surprised, Daniel Jackson, that you did not." Daniel couldn't quite shake the feeling that his friend was laughing at him.

He turned back to Jack. A thousand questions crossed his mind. He'd always known that his two friends had the potential for something more than just friendship. Hell, he'd seen it played out himself in two alternate realities, but he'd never thought anything would come of it _here_. Both Sam and Jack seemed too professional; too controlled and too dedicated to their careers, their team, and, ultimately, the planet to risk losing everything because of their emotions. While this had personally never made any sense to Daniel, who tended to feel first and only think rationally about his actions later, it had seemed to be working for Jack and Sam. When Sam had started dating and then gotten engaged to Pete Shanahan, he'd figured they'd somehow settled the issue.

Obviously, he'd been wrong.

Jack must have noticed the confused expression on Daniel's face but for once, he misread it. "Look, I know the timing sucks, but, as it turns out, the thing with…Shanahan," Jack still had trouble saying the name, "was all wrong from the beginning. We – Carter and I – Well, we've been screwing things up for a long time now."

Teal'c shifted slightly next to Daniel and Jack glanced at him suspiciously. The Jaffa remained silent, however, but as Jack turned away, Daniel couldn't miss the flash of agreement which crossed Teal'c's features.

"Jacob's death showed us we needed to do something about it before it was too late." Jack stopped, holding his breath as he watched Daniel's face intently for his reaction, clearly needing his friend's understanding and approval.

The younger man barely noticed his friend's scrutiny, though. His mind was already racing back across the years, remembering countless little moments between Jack and Sam which seemed so insignificant individually: just two friends talking, or the natural concern of a leader for a team member. Now, taken all together and seen from this new perspective, they took on a whole other meaning. Suddenly, Daniel understood.

He nodded his approval, saying simply, "She needed you, Jack." His friend's eyes met his, gratitude for Daniel's understanding shining from their depths. "What else _could_ you do?"

--------------------

The chaplain had suggested the family wait in the privacy of the community room below the chapel until Jacob Carter's funeral. Mark and his family had arrived early, seeing little difference between waiting there or at the hotel. Sam and Cassie had been there for nearly half an hour themselves, having made only a quick stop at Burger King for food during the short drive from the airport to Peterson Air Force Base.

Cassie had been surprised when Sam had picked her up after her short flight from Denver in a dark civilian suit rather than the expected blue dress uniform. She had been even more surprised by what Sam had told her once they'd gotten into the car.

Sam had finally seen the light – thank God! – and broken up with Pete. Cassie had known a long time ago, from the way Sam had talked about him, that they were all wrong for each other. It wasn't only the stalking, either, although that was a bit creepy. Sam just didn't light up when she talked about Pete the way she did about, well, quarks and singularities, and stuff like that. Stuff like Jack, actually. Sam had always gotten excited about Jack O'Neill.

This had confused the heck out of Cassie when she had first come to Earth. The way her two friends had acted towards each other had seemed, in her child's mind, to indicate more than just friendship. When she'd asked her Mom about it, though, Mom had gotten real quiet – the way she did when she was upset but refusing to give in to her anger – then muttered something completely unintelligible to an eleven year-old from another planet about fraternization and responsibility. She'd concluded by suggesting Cassie never mention it again. She hadn't, but later, alone in the dark after her mother had died, she'd lain awake wishing real hard that Sam and Jack would get together and that they could finally be a family.

Now, maybe, that wish would come true. It just sucked that Jacob Carter had to die to make Cassie's dream a reality.

Cassie looked up from the table where she was watching Mike and Mandy play cards to where Sam was standing talking with Mark and Kristen. Considering her father had just died, Sam looked pretty good. Cassie had half expected her to be all tired and worn out, the way she had been after staying too late at the SGC during the months Cassie had lived with her before college. Instead, Sam looked sad, obviously upset about her dad, but not really _bad_. Cassie was relieved to see that, and couldn't help hoping it might have something to do with Jack.

As if he had heard her think his name, Jack O'Neill stepped through the community room's door with Daniel Jackson and Teal'c following behind him. Cassie jumped up and called to them as soon as she realized they were carrying several pizza boxes and 6-packs of soda. "Hey, guys, over here." She turned to the two kids playing cards, "Why don't you put those away so I can clear a spot for the food? And see if you can find me any napkins."

Mike and Mandy gathered up the cards before taking off towards the cabinets lining one wall on their hunt for napkins. The guys brought the pizza to the table and started spreading out boxes and separating sodas. The other adults came over to help. The kids returned having found both napkins and paper plates, and somehow, amidst the chaos of activity, the meal was properly spread out.

As everyone claimed their pizza, Jack snagged two slices of pepperoni, which Cassie knew to be Sam's favorite, placed them on a plate, and tried to pass the plate to Sam. "No, thanks," she declined with a wave of her hand. "We ate on the way over from the airport."

"Really?" At Sam's nod, Jack glanced across the table at Cassie for confirmation.

"Really, Jack, we did," Cassie promised.

Jack just stared at Sam, surprise evident on his face. Everyone knew Sam rarely ate when she was upset. In response to his surprise, Sam tried to explain, "I _told_ you I'd eat."

Cassie recognized Jack's pleasure at Sam's words. "Yeah, but I didn't think you'd actually—"

"What, follow your orders?" she shot back, one eyebrow arched dangerously.

"Well – yeah."

Sam stepped really close to Jack. Placing her hand on his chest, she commanded softly, "Stop worrying about me, Jack. I told you I'm going to be okay." Then with a quick kiss on the cheek that surprised and pleased Cassie even more than the casual use of Jack's first name, Sam walked over to rejoin her brother and sister-in-law's conversation.

Jack followed, leaving Cassie standing at the table with Teal'c and Daniel. The three friends exchanged bemused glances, and Cassie knew they were all thinking much the same thing: Sam – and Jack – really _were_ going to be okay. But, somehow, Cassie didn't think anyone besides Sam and Jack themselves was as happy about that as she was.


	6. Goodbye

He stood behind the pulpit, aware of the imposing figure he presented in his blue General's uniform, for once glad of the camouflage it afforded. He cleared his throat and looked out across the chapel at those assembled for Jacob Carter's funeral. His gaze drifted to the front of the room, sliding over Mark and Kristen, sitting in the front pew with Mike and Mandy. Daniel and Teal'c were sitting behind the two children, Daniel next to Carter with one of her hands clasped tightly in his own. Cassie, on the other side of Sam, next to the aisle, had her arm around the older woman, head lying on her shoulder, offering comfort in the guise of seeking it.

Carter could not have been more surrounded by love if he had been sitting next to her. Satisfied, Brigadier General Jack O'Neill glanced down at his notes and began to speak:

"Before I begin, I'd like to say how greatly honored I am that Mark and Samantha Carter, Jacob's son and daughter, asked me to deliver his eulogy today."

Of all the pairs of eyes watching him, he could feel the familiar weight of Carter's gaze, holding onto him even from a distance. He allowed himself to look up into those beautiful blue eyes, wide and shining with unshed tears. As their eyes met, Jack sent his encouragement in a smile so brief and slight he knew no one but Carter would understand. The corners of her mouth turned up in the barest hint of a smile; her eyes blinked and one tear slid slowly down her cheek. Jack tore his eyes away from her features and back to his notes. That path led to places he couldn't go – not yet. He continued to read:

"Now, I have had the honor of working with Jacob Carter as closely as anyone has over the last few years and I can tell you that, while we didn't always agree – OK, to be honest, we _rarely_ ever seemed to agree on _anything_ – there are very few officers I've served with whom I've respected and admired as much as I did Jacob Carter. Upon meeting him for the first time, he often appeared harsh and critical but after getting to know him, it became clear that the high standards Jacob held others to were nothing compared to those which he expected of himself. This sometimes made it difficult to get along with him and difficult to get to know him, and I know it made things difficult on his two children and everyone who loved him, but when things got tough, there was no one I'd rather have at my side or watching my back then Jacob. Personally, I will miss his sharp mind and his sharp wit, his refusal to ever shirk a duty or let down a friend but thankfully, in many ways, Jacob's legacy will always be with us. He left us not only a lifetime of personal accomplishments which I do not believe can ever be fully appreciated, but he also left us his children and grandchildren, who, through their lives and accomplishments, carry the best part of him into the future."

Despite his dislike for giving speeches, Jack was a good enough speaker to allow his gaze to wander through his audience as he spoke. However, he had carefully avoided looking back at Carter until the end of his notes. Now, he looked deliberately at her, straight through her eyes into her soul, and knew; the grief she had so long held at bay had broken through her defenses, and she was shattered. Keeping eye contact, trying to send love and support through eyes grown suddenly misty themselves, Jack concluded:

"In the end, Jacob Carter and I agreed on all of the most important things, and I will forever be more in debt to him than I could possibly have imagined. Thank you, Jacob, for your life, and for your example, and I promise that I – that _we_ – will not let you down."

He finished, and stepped down from the pulpit as quickly as he could. When he sat back down in his pew across the aisle from her, he let himself glance her way again. Samantha sat surrounded by friends and family, her head bowed, her eyes closed – but the tears were yet to come.

--------------------------------------------

Sam managed to make it back to the privacy of Jack's limo before giving in to her grief and falling into his arms, finally allowing herself the freedom to cry. While she clearly remembered Jack's speech, the rest of the day had passed in a blur of faces and condolences. The whole time Sam had ached for this private moment when she could drop the military façade and give free reign to the tears now soaking Jack's shoulder.

She was going to miss her Dad so much. Until his funeral, formally saying 'Goodbye', she hadn't realized how much. He had been gone enough recently that she had managed to keep believing he would walk in the door or through the 'gate with a hug and a problem needing her to help solve. The reality had hit her during Jack's speech and shattered her completely. He was gone, and she would never see his smile, or hear his wry chuckle, or feel his gentle arms around her again… Only a lifetime of practice had kept her moving forward until she could safely collapse here in the safety of Jack's embrace.

Jack let her cry herself out, offering neither empty comfort nor false understanding. He held her close while her breathing returned to normal, offering his strength to sustain her own. Not until she fully relaxed against him did he release her, and then only to reach into his jacket pocket with one hand for a crumpled tissue. She shifted against him to take the offered tissue and used it to pat her eyes dry.

Sam rubbed at the now wet collar of Jack's jacket. "I'm sorry. You're uniform's wet."

Jack pulled her back close against him. "I'm not," he murmured into her hair.

She kissed the crook of his neck before pushing away gently. The car had stopped moving some time ago, and glancing out the window, she realized she was home. Cassie had already left the limo and was standing on the porch talking to Daniel and Teal'c, who had been following the limo in Sam's car. Despite having two pairs of house keys, Cassie's and those with the car keys, they were clearly waiting for her and Jack to join them.

"We need to get going," she decided reluctantly, not really wanting to leave the warmth of Jack's embrace. "Cassie's promised to cook dinner, and we don't want Teal'c to get too hungry."

"Yeah," he agreed, echoing her reluctance. He rapped on the window beside him and his driver, who'd been waiting outside, opened the door for them. Jack stepped out and turned, offering his hand to Sam. She took it and he helped her out and for once, Sam didn't care if the driver noticed Jack fail to release her arm as he walked her to her door.


	7. Invitations

Jack woke up with a start, but years of experience waking in strange places allowed him to immediately remember where he was, and whom he was with. Only he wasn't, not anymore. The moonlight streamed in through the windows of Samantha Carter's bedroom, illuminating the empty crumpled sheets lying in bed next to him.

He got up and left the room to find her. He didn't have to look far. She was sitting at her kitchen table, staring out the sliding glass door in front of her. Her back was to him, and as he watched, she ran her hand through her short blonde hair, still tousled from sleep. Then, smiling slightly, she looked over her shoulder at him. "You gonna stand there in the doorway forever, or would you like to come in and join me?"

Jack sat across the table from her, his reflection in the door's glass moving with him, explaining how Carter knew he was there despite his silence. Gesturing to the mug of what smelled like tea sitting in front of her, he asked, "Trouble sleeping?"

Sam glanced down into her tea, seeming to search for answers in its brown depths. Taking a deep breath, clearly making a decision, she looked back up, her wide blue eyes boring intently into his own brown. "I guess I'm just a little worried. The last week with you has been – incredible. Really. But last night, seeing you writing out your resignation…"

Carter's voice trailed off and she dropped her gaze, her nerve exhausted, but Jack had heard enough. "Made it all pretty real, huh?"

"Yeah. There are just so many unknowns. What if--?" Her words broke off abruptly at his chuckle. "What?"

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. It's… You're being so – you." He reached forward and gently stroked her cheek with the back of his hand as he concluded, "I love you, Samantha. That's all that really matters now."

"But…"

Jack shook his head. "No 'buts.'"

Being Samantha Carter, however, she refused to be silenced. "They might not accept it, Jack. You know how the Pentagon feels about you."

"Then I'll resign my commission."

"You could lose _everything_."

He smiled at her. "Why, where are you going?"

"I…" Realization struck, and she blushed slightly, smiling back at him despite her concern. "Nowhere."

"Then I guess I don't have to worry, do I?"

"Jack, I can't ask you to…"

"You never have," he agreed, unable to completely keep bitterness at his own stupidity out of his voice. He quickly continued, "Carter, I've saved the world I can't count how many times. I don't think anyone is going to insist I still owe anyone anything."

Carter nodded. "I _know_ that, rationally. It just matters so much, and we've waited so long." She smiled, defeated at last by his optimism. "I guess I'm just not used to being happy. I keep expecting something to go wrong."

Jack saw the opening he had been waiting for. The opportunity he had wanted since sitting at the pool with Mark Carter watching Sam play with her niece and nephew, when his whole future had opened up before him. "Sam, there _is_ one way to be sure. One loophole in the regulations, something even the military can't regulate." He intentionally left out the fact that it would prove to her once and for all, publicly and legally, that his 'always' meant forever.

He waited, unable to breathe, watching her reaction. He could almost see the gears turning behind beautiful eyes which grew still rounder and wider as she realized what he had meant. "Jack…? You can't mean… Are you asking me to--?"

He shook his head and reached across the table to take both her hands in his own. This simple physical contact gave him the courage to continue. "No, Carter. I'm not _asking_ you to marry me. I'm telling you that I love you more than I would ever have thought possible, and I can't imagine the rest of my life without you by my side. I know you like I know myself, and no amount of waiting could teach me more.

"I'm also telling you the one way to be absolutely certain nothing can come between us. Once we're married, the Air Force can approve my retirement, they can transfer us, or they can ignore us. The one thing they can't do is punish us. Marriage isn't against the regulations, and with your record, no one can even claim favoritism. At least, not for you, though that might explain my promotion—"

Jack interrupted himself, saying, "Look, Sam, I'm not asking for an answer now. Just think about it, okay? But know one thing: if you decide to marry me, I'll have you in front of a minister so fast your head will spin. You've been warned."

Sam nodded wordlessly and, to Jack's intense relief, she was smiling slightly as he finished speaking. Having said what he'd wanted to say and not wanting to pressure her into a decision she'd later regret, he quickly changed the subject. "Speaking of doing some thinking, I know this great little spot for it up in Northern Minnesota. Nice cabin besides blue waters…"

That succeeded in breaking the mood, and Carter chuckled, shaking her head in disbelief. "Jack, are you asking me to go fishing? Again?"

He gave her his best little boy smile. "Yeah, sure. You betcha."

-------------

At first, she'd resisted his invitation, but he'd eventually defeated all her arguments against the trip, so here they all were in Minnesota, Daniel and Teal'c having been invited as much for their company as to hide the new nature of Sam and Jack's relationship. They couldn't both put in for leave to the same place at the same time, and a team-building exercise was the perfect cover.

Sam was forced to admit the day had been wonderful, and she'd revised her opinion of fishing. Well, to be perfectly honest, she'd revised her opinion of fishing with _Jack_. She smiled to herself. She'd been finding there were a lot of things which were better with Jack; practically everything, in fact, which was why she was out there now, thinking about Jack, and about how the thought of marrying him was so different from marrying anyone else. She'd thought about marriage before, obviously, since she'd been engaged twice already. In both cases, there had been problems from the start, little things that she had initially felt she could live with but which had loomed larger as the wedding date approached.

With Jack, ironically, she had the opposite problem. The idea of being married to him, of shaping their personal lives together in the same way they'd long shaped their professional ones, felt too right, too perfect. Sam kept looking for the catch; the problem with their getting married which she was failing to see, because as far as she could tell, Jack was right. Marriage solved all their problems, and opened up a lifetime of happiness too good to be true, which, of course, brought her back around to the original problem.

Caught up in her thoughts, Sam failed to notice Jack's nearly silent approach. "You need to stop doing this," he softly admonished from behind her.

She turned to look at him. He stood lit by the moonlight, hair messed from sleep, hands shoved into the pockets of wrinkled sweatpants which she vaguely recalled tossing on the ground earlier that evening. His mouth turned up at the corners in the tenderest of smiles under brown eyes shining with love.

All fear and doubt were forgotten in an instant, and Samantha smiled back at him. "How quickly did you say you could get a minister?" she asked before stepping forward into the circle of his embrace.

Jack pulled her to his chest, his hand at her neck pressing her cheek to his shoulder. "You sure?" he murmured into her hair.

"More sure than I've ever been about anything before," she answered honestly. His arms tightened around her, and she relaxed against him, the tension of the last few weeks draining into his solid frame. Parts of which, she noticed, were quickly becoming more solid. Her instinct, trained over years, was to avoid mentioning it, but now…

She rubbed her abdomen against him, and he moaned, "Carter…"

She smiled and kissed his neck, "Mhm?"

"Maybe we should move inside…?"

She giggled. "Before you have to explain to the guys why you've got your sidearm out?"

"Oh, not that," he replied, chuckling himself, "I'd tell them the truth."

She pulled back to look up at him, one eyebrow arched warningly. "Which is?"

"I'd tell them you wanted to use it for… 'target practice'." She playfully batted him on the chest and, still laughing, arms wrapped around each other, they headed back into the dark and silent cabin.

-----------------------------

The next morning at breakfast, Sam and Jack told Daniel and Teal'c their plans and, after an appropriate round of congratulations, they began making phone calls. A marriage license could be obtained by Saturday; a local pastor was available and could come out to the cabin on that day; Cassie was sure she could get there by Saturday morning, even if she had to drive all the way up from Minneapolis. If, amidst the flurry of activity, Daniel and Teal'c noticed that their friends looked as if they hadn't gotten much sleep the night before, they may have exchanged knowing grins, but wisely chose not to mention a thing.


	8. The Wedding

AN: The minister's words were all taken directly, except for the addition of the names, from an actual example wedding ceremony I found online. Amazing, no?

-----------------------------

Cassandra Fraiser stepped back to admire her work. She had managed to catch nearly all of Sam's hair in a twist behind her head, which was pretty good since she wasn't used to working with such short hair. Cassie gingerly prodded one of the tiny hydrangeas she'd woven between the strands. Everything seemed to be holding. Satisfied, she handed Sam the small mirror sitting on the low dresser. "Well, what do you think?"

The older woman positioned the mirror behind her head so she could see Cassie's work reflected in the large dresser mirror in front of her. "It's beautiful." Sam turned her head and beamed a smile over her shoulder at Cassie. "Thanks!"

Cassie smiled in return. "It's the least I can do. You and Jack…" She had trouble continuing her sentence. Her happiness suddenly seemed too close to a betrayal. She tried again. "You're like the only parents I have left."

Sam's blue eyes narrowed for a moment at Cassie's words. "Janet wouldn't have wanted you to be alone, Cassie, and neither would your other parents. They'd _want_ you to be happy."

The thing Cassie really loved about Sam was that she refused to bullshit, and she wasn't about to let Cassie do so, either. Fighting back her tears, Cassie tried to explain, "I know that. It's just -- Mom should be here helping you instead of me."

Sam smiled, understanding. That was another thing about Sam: she _always_ got it. "No, she should have been here with _us_." Sam corrected, and Cassie, nodding silently, couldn't quite keep back her tears. The other woman noticed, of course, and standing up, held her arms open to Cassie. "C'mere," she gently ordered.

Cassie stepped forward gratefully, and Sam wrapped her arms around her. She felt better just being held, and it took her several minutes to notice that Sam was crying, too. She quickly broke out of the embrace. "Oh, Sam, I'm so sorry. I totally forgot about – I mean, here I am, feeling sorry for myself like a selfish child, and your Dad…"

To her astonishment, Sam chuckled, carefully wiping the tears off her face as she did so. "Its okay, Cass. I think I probably needed that as much as you did. And, today especially, I really miss them both."

Sam briefly hugged Cassie again before adding, "Besides, where our parents are, I suspect they're as happy about today as we are." Cassie doubted anyone had ever been as happy – and for good reason – as Sam and Jack on their wedding day, but she refrained from saying so. Of course, Sam saw the disbelieving look on Cassie's face and quickly added, laughing again, "Okay, maybe not _as_ happy, but you know what I mean."

Cassie joined her in giggling. "Yeah, I guess." Then, noticing Sam's tears had left a trail down her cheeks, she motioned for her to sit back down. "Now, let me fix your face before Jack sees you and thinks you're having second thoughts about marrying him." Though, looking at the light shining from Sam's smile as she started to reapply her make-up, Cassie knew no one who saw Sam could possibly have any question about that.

-----------------------------------

Jack had been standing on the pier waiting for Carter forever. If he were being honest, he had probably only been standing there next to the minister, with Teal'c and Daniel standing next to him on the edge of the pond, for about five minutes. After eight years of unconsciously waiting for her to be his, however, it certainly felt like forever.

Finally, Cassie appeared 'round the corner of the cabin. She hurried to where the men were waiting and reassured them with a grin. "She's coming. It just took a bit longer than we expected," she said, and took her place on the opposite side of the pier from where the men of SG-1 stood.

Samantha Carter stepped around the corner of the cabin. Jack blinked. Twice. He knew she was gorgeous, but – He tugged at the bottom edge of his suit jacket, briefly wishing he'd gone with the tuxedo and its concealing cummerbund after all. Carter was wearing a lacy cardigan opened over a full-length sleeveless white dress that hugged her in all the right places. As she came to stand beside him, he could see her hair was pulled back and up under her veil, her face underneath glowing with a smile radiant even by her standards. On a woman who looked incredible wearing BDUs and covered in mud and gunk, the overall effect was absolutely stunning.

Impossibly, her smile grew still brighter as she saw the effect her appearance had on him. "Breathe," she ordered on a giggle under her breath.

"Yes, ma'am."

She giggled again, and together they turned to face the minister. "Ready?" he asked them quietly. They nodded, again in unison, and, opening his prayer book, the minister began the ceremony:

"Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here today to celebrate one of life's greatest moments, to give recognition to the worth and beauty of love, and to add our best wishes to the words which shall unite John --"

Jack interrupted smoothly, "Jack."

Without missing a beat, the minister continued, 'Jack O'Neill and Samantha Carter in marriage. Should there be anyone who has cause why this couple should not be united in marriage, they must speak now or forever hold their peace."

The minister glanced 'round the small group. So did Jack, only his expression was a bit more threatening. Satisfied, the minister continued:

"Good. Then, Jo—Jack, do you take Samantha to be your Wife?"

The minister paused until Jack answered, "I do."

"Do you promise to love, honor, cherish, and protect her, forsaking all others and holding only unto her?"

Jack looked across the minister at Sam, catching her eyes before answering with a smile only for her, "Always," and was rewarded by a twinkle in those beautiful blue eyes.

The minister turned to Carter, "Samantha, do you take Jack to be your Husband?"

"I do."

"Do you promise to love, honor, cherish, and protect him, forsaking all others and holding only unto him?'

It was Carter's turn to look him in the eye, winking as she answered, "Always." Jack smiled back at her. They definitely had the protecting part down, and he was looking forward to spending the rest of their lives practicing the loving and cherishing -- especially the loving. He tugged the edge of his suit down again, just to be on the safe side. She noticed the gesture, and winked again.

The minister had continued speaking during this exchange, and was busy explaining the significance of wedding rings. "…And visible sign of an inward spiritual grace and the unbroken circle of love, signifying to all the union of this man and this woman in marriage. Do you have the rings?"

Jack nodded, pulling her rings – both an engagement ring and a wedding band permanently joined together – out of his suit pocket. He had purchased them, attached to each other already, the day before Jacob's funeral, and they had been in his pocket or his nightstand ever since. This was the first time she had seen them, however, and her already huge doe eyes grew still larger at the size and cut of the diamond. Two months of a Brigadier General's pay could buy a _very _nice ring.

He smiled proudly as he repeated the minister's words, "I, Jack O'Neill, take thee, Samantha Carter, to be my Wife. To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, and I promise to continue to love you forevermore as I always have." Then, taking her hand in his, and squeezing gently to accentuate his promise, he slipped the rings onto her finger.

Carter turned to Cassie, who stepped forward to hand her Jack's ring. She had picked it up on Monday when she'd gone into town to buy her dress and apply for their marriage license. He hadn't seen the ring, either, a simple gold band, but he knew she'd gotten it engraved. She repeated the ministers words, "I, Samantha Carter, take thee, Jack O'Neill, to be my Husband. To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, and I promise to continue to love you forevermore as I always have." She slipped the cool band onto his hand, the small bit of metal feeling perfectly right as it settled around his finger.

Still holding hands, they looked back up at the minister, who began speaking again:

"Jack and Samantha, as the two of you come into this marriage uniting you as husband and wife, and as you this day affirm your faith and love for one another, I would ask that you always remember to cherish each other as special and unique individuals, that you respect the thoughts, ideas and suggestions of one another. Be able to forgive, do not hold grudges, and live each day that you may share it together – as from this day forward you shall be each other's home, comfort, and refuge, your marriage strengthened by your love and respect for each other.

Jack looked at Samantha, standing next to him as she had stood beside him for the better part of the last decade and realized that being married wouldn't change as much about their relationship as he had thought. The best part, Carter at his side and having his back no matter what kind of shit they found themselves in, would remain the same. Even their newly discovered physical intimacy was just another dimension of that. Granted, a very _nice_ dimension, but still… Jack pulled his attention back to the minister, who had continued speaking:

"…of life's greatest commitments. But it is also is declaration of love. I wish to read to you what Paul wrote of love in a letter to the Corinthians. I believe it is a true model of love and it is a model of love I hope you pursue in your marriage:

Love is very patient and kind, never jealous nor envious, never boastful nor proud. Love is never haughty nor selfish nor rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable or touchy. Love does not hold grudges and will hardly notice when others do it wrong. Love is never glad about injustice, but rejoices whenever truth wins out. If you love someone, you will be loyal to them no matter what the cost. You will always believe in them, always expect the best of them, and will always stand your ground defending them." Jack and Sam smiled at each at the minister's last sentence. If he only knew…

Now nearing the end of the ceremony, the minister asked them to turn to each other and hold hands before he went on. "Jack and Samantha, in so much as the two of you have agreed to live together in Holy Matrimony, have promised your love for each other by these vows, the joining of your hands and the giving of these rings, I now declare you to be Husband and Wife. Whom God hath joined together, let no one put asunder.

"Congratulations, you may now kiss your bride."

Stepping forward, Jack lifted Carter's veil before pulling her into his arms. He dipped down, bending her backwards as he pressed his lips to hers. Her mouth opened beneath his, her tongue dancing with his, tasting him as he tasted her. Finally, their need for oxygen overcoming their need for each other, Jack released her. They stood breathlessly next to each other, their friend's cheers ringing in their ears as the minister, smiling now himself, concluded the ceremony:

"It is my privilege to present to you General and Lieutenant Colonel O'Neill."


	9. Fallout

Major General George Hammond arrived back in his office at the Pentagon after a morning full of typical Monday briefings. The always present and never ending pile of reports and paperwork sat waiting in his inbox. He sat down, ready to reach for the top item, but the courier envelope sitting in the middle of his desk stopped him. It was from Stargate Command, addressed personally to himself from Jack O'Neill, and it was marked 'Urgent'.

George picked up the envelope, twisted open the closure, and pulled out the single page inside. A photo was attached to this page by a paper clip. It took him less than a minute to read the entire memo, and another full minute to look at the included picture. On the back, written in a flowing script he instantly recognized, was written: "Uncle George, Sorry you couldn't be there with us, but I'm sure you'll understand why. Love, Sammie." When he was finished, he simply sat in his chair for another minute, shaking his head and muttering under his breath, "Jack, Jack, Jack."

While the timing surprised him, the actual contents of the memo did not. If anything, he had been wondering, ever since hearing that Samantha Carter had broken off her engagement to Pete Shanahan, and especially since Jacob Carter's funeral, if such a letter were on its way. Few people knew Jack O'Neill well enough to have noticed, but George had seen him hovering around Sam Carter at her father's funeral. Never too close, but always there, quick with a steadying hand on her back or shoulder whenever her tight control faltered. After years watching the two of them deliberately avoid touching, the significance of Jack and Sam's new closeness had not been lost on him.

His friend Jack was a smart man, and eight years was a very long time, and he knew Sam and Jack deserved happiness more than any other two people he knew. Still, it put him in a rather difficult situation. With a sigh, he picked up the red phone on his desk and punched in the all-too familiar number.

------------------------------------------

Some time later, Brigadier General Jack O'Neill was sitting at his desk at Stargate Command when the phone rang: the _red_ phone, not the black one. Considering the memorandum he had sent to D.C. that morning, this was not terribly surprising. With a strange mixture of fear and excitement, he picked up the receiver.

"General O'Neill."

"Jack!"

'Yes, Mr. President?"

"I've just spoken with George Hammond…"

_Oh, boy,_ thought Jack, here_ it comes. _"Yes, sir?"

"It seems we need to talk."

"Sir? With all due respect, I think I made my wanting to retire – and my reasons for doing so – very clear."

"See, Jack. The problem is, we – and by we I mean the Planet – still need you."

Jack couldn't help chuckling a little. "Sir, I think the planet can get on just fine without me."

"I'm not so sure, Jack."

Jack took a deep breath, letting it out slowly before continuing. "Look, sir. I realize I'm making life harder for a lot of people. It's just –"

The President interrupted him, "I understand, Jack. And no one should have expected you to sacrifice as much as you have for this world. I do wish you'd come to me, first."

"Sir?" Now Jack really was surprised.

"I am the _President of the United States_, Jack. There are very few things I can't work-out. Especially something as easy and important as making sure the man and woman responsible for saving the planet," there was a slight pause on the other end of the line as the President clearly looked for the necessary information, "eight times, aren't punished simply for having the poor judgment to fall in love with each other. Last time I checked, Jack, that wasn't exactly the sort of thing one can control…"

"No, sir. It's not." The simple words seemed such an understatement after so many years of pain.

"Exactly. So, I'm free Thursday night. Why don't you and Lieutenant Colonel Carter -- I assume she's not changing her professional name? – come join me and my wife for dinner. We can discuss possibilities for the future then. Don't get me wrong, you can still retire, if that's what you two decide is best. But I want you to know there might be other solutions before you make your final decision. Understand?"

"Yes, sir."

"Besides," the President added, laughing now himself, "If any two people deserve the honor of spending the night in the Lincoln Bedroom, it's the two of you."

"Sir?!"

The President ignored his shock. "Good, it's settled then. Have your assistant contact my secretary to make the arrangements. And I'll see you Thursday."

"Yes sir. Goodbye, Mr. President."

"Goodbye. And, Jack?"

"Yes sir?"

"Congratulations."

----------------------------------------------------


	10. Distracting

Samantha Carter stepped through the doorway into one of the most famous bedrooms in America with Jack O'Neill following closely behind her. She turned to face him as he closed the door firmly, sealing out the rest of the world. He leaned back against the door frame, fumbling to undo the tie knotted around his neck. Jack never did feel comfortable in his dress blues.

"Here," Sam ordered, bending forward to loosen the tie for him. He could be such a little boy. "Better?"

"Oh, yeah," he murmured, his gaze somewhere below her face. He slowly licked his lips as he pulled his eyes back up to hers, the smile on his handsome features anything but boyish. "Much better."

Sam suddenly realized what bending forward must have done to the plunging neckline of her dark blue evening dress. She flushed, knowing she had been tricked. "Jack… We need to talk…"

"Uh-huh," he nodded, stepping towards her, his actions contradicting his words as he reached for her. 'That's what I've been thinking all evening."

"Jack! I mean it…"

He chuckled low in his throat, the sound more a growl than amusement, and Sam suddenly found it very difficult to breathe. "Oh, me too," he agreed. He grabbed her around the waist, pulling her to him, and proceeded to show her exactly what it was he meant.

---------------------------------

Later, Sam sat facing Jack on the small sofa in the bedroom's sitting area. Her knees were tucked up to her chest and she had pulled the fluffy 'Lincoln Bedroom' souvenir robe she was wearing around her legs for added warmth. Sipping her coffee, she silently studied Jack's face, waiting for him to speak. Someone had to break the silence. "Well?" she finally asked.

He glanced up at her, and she could read the indecision in the depths of his eyes. "I honestly don't know, Carter. President Hayes is right. With General Hamm – George – facing mandatory retirement, I _am_ the only logical replacement. It's just…"

He shifted uncomfortably, and she buried her bare toes further under his robed thigh, suddenly needing the increased contact. "I know. But, really, it's not that far from D.C to Colorado Springs. And besides, I'm offworld most of the time –" A flash of pain crossed his face, and she stopped herself. She caught her bottom-lip between her teeth, not wanting to continue, but knowing she had to. She hurriedly concluded, 'We usually get three or four days off at once when we're home, and I can spend them in D.C. almost as easily as in Colorado Springs."

"Yeah…" He breathed in deeply, letting his breath out slowly before continuing, 'I guess."

There was clearly something still bothering him. "What?" she asked.

He looked surprised at her question, then started to chuckle. "Love does make you crazy, Sam. I just realized I could care less about all the shit I _thought_ was making me miserable at the SGC. Not hearing from you for weeks at a time, not knowing where you are or what you're doing -- " She said nothing, merely nodded, waiting for him to come to the logical conclusion. He looked directly at her as he finished. "Even without all the practical 'serve humanity' kinds of reasons… I need to do this."

She nodded again. She had known from the moment the President has suggested Jack take over for George Hammond what his decision would inevitably be. She knew him to well to have any doubt about his honor or his love. "I know." She tried to smile. "Anyway, you would have made a pretty terrible house-husband. Last time you tried to retire, it took you, what, a week to be bored out of your mind?"

"Yeah," he agreed. "But I didn't have coming home to you to look forward too."

She really smiled this time. "Makes almost anything okay, doesn't it?"

He returned her smile. "See, I told you I was nuts. Because right now, even living in D.C. and wearing my dress blues all the time doesn't seem too bad, not when I can do this…" He leaned forward, kissing her gently on the lips.

She arched one eyebrow. "Is that all you've wanted to do?"

He actually laughed. "And this?' Leaning forward again, he pressed his lips more firmly against hers. She opened to him, but instead of accepting her invitation, he caught her lower lip between his teeth, tugging gently before releasing her. "God, I've wanted to do that for years…'

"Years?"

"Oh, yeah. You make it look so good…"

"Jack!"

He smiled unapologetically. "And it is…" He moved still closer, whispering against her lips, "Very good… But not as good as this…," and this time, Jack did not stop until she lay exhausted and satisfied beneath him in the huge Lincoln bed.

-----------------------------

Later, Jack woke up slowly. Carter was curled against him, her head pillowed on his shoulder. He lay for long minutes listening to her breathing, savoring her warmth and softness pressed along the length of his body. Then, as he listened, he realized her breathing was too quick and too shallow. She was awake.

"Carter? Are you awake?" he whispered.

"Yeah… Sorry. I've couldn't sleep. I've been thinking…"

Uh-oh. "Really?"

She chuckled before continuing, "I still need to get away from the SGC until you can find yourself a replacement."

"I've been thinking about that all week. If the Daedulus hadn't been sped into service and was halfway to Atlantis with that ZPM they dug up, I'd suggest you and the rest of the team head out that way for awhile. But as it is…"

"Yeah. Hey… you know, the Prometheus is due for a retrofit, and they haven't gotten anyone to replace Colonel Mallozzi yet, and I really am the best qualified…

He looked down at her, and as she tilted her head up to look at him, Jack couldn't mistake the light shining in her eyes, illuminating her face. "You want to do this, don't you?"

She giggled. "That obvious?"

He hugged her more closely. "To me." The thought of her at Area 51, safely tucked away in a lab even if only temporarily, made him happier than he would ever admit. He knew what would happen if he did, and he could not live with the inevitable consequences.

"But, it would solve the problem… Right?" She looked so uncertain and hopeful. Obviously, Sam still had no idea how impossible it would be for him to deny her this request.

"Yes, and of course considering where it's coming from, it's the perfect solution."

"It's not too terribly far from Area 51 to the SGC, either. I mean, if we're totally miserable…"

He kissed her forehead. "Carter, I've been miserable for the last eight years. Just knowing you're mine – wherever you are – and that when you come home it will be to me, is enough." She smiled, and he continued, "Now, Samantha, I think that covers just about everything we needed to discuss. And, since we have the whole rest of the night in this magnificent room, and it seems such a waste to spend that time sleeping…" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, and she giggled.

"Yes, sir. C'mere, sir." He obediently rolled to face her, gathering her into his arms and, for the remainder of the night, neither of them got anymore sleep.


End file.
